The Book Show

Ocean Vuong's dazzling follow up to his debut On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous, Charlotte McConaghy's urgent Wild Dark Shore and David Malouf reflects on a life of writing.The Emperor of Gladness is the latest novel from the Vietnam born, American-based writer Ocean Vuong who made his name with his 2019 novel On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous. His new novel, The Emperor of Gladness, takes you to a forgotten, rundown town in Connecticut called East Gladness which is a place of overgrown lawns and trampled weeds, of potholes and roadkill. Ocean shares why he thinks his latest book is self-indulgent (and that's ok), how he came to writing from business school and why his mother never knew that he dropped out of college to study literature.A small family lives on a remote island, the father a caretaker for the world's seeds. Then in the rising seas, a woman is washed up to shore. Charlotte McConaghy's Wild Dark Shore is a mystery, a story of love, and a warning.Now at 91, David Malouf tells Claire Nichols about the place of fiction in his life and what it means to reissue three collections of poetry: An Open Book, Earth Hour and Typewriter Music.

Bri Lee, Madeleine Gray and Kate Mildenhall break the mould with their new books about fraying families, frightening futures and creepy animals in Seed, Chosen Family and The Hiding Place.These three authors have made a splash with their previous books and they joined each other in Perth with The Book Show host, Claire Nichols, to share the joy — and angst — of writing fiction and the challenge of creating believable worlds. Madeleine Gray is the author of Green Dot and her new book is Chosen Family.Bri Lee is the author of the acclaimed non-fiction work, Eggshell Skull, and her debut fiction was The Work. Her second novel is Seed.Kate Mildenhall is the author of four adult novels including The Hummingbird Effect and The Mother Fault. Her latest book is The Hiding Place.Plus, the final instalment in our five-part series Dear Jane, celebrating 250 years of Jane Austen. We ask why is Jane Austen endlessly adaptable? American author, Karen Joy Fowler (We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves) has published her own Austen-inspired novel, The Jane Austen Book Club (2004) and helps Claire Nichols and Sarah L'Estrange answer this big question. Listen to the rest of the Dear Jane series here.

Why is Jane Austen endlessly adaptable? After all, her Pride and Prejudice character, Elizabeth Bennett, has fought zombies, investigated murders, been a video blogger and has performed Bollywood dance numbers. Is it the brilliant plotting, the wonderful characters or the humour that makes her work so readily transplanted to the screen, stage and page in so many different variations?American author, Karen Joy Fowler (We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves) has published her own Austen-inspired novel, The Jane Austen Book Club (2004) and helps Claire Nichols and Sarah L'Estrange answer these questions in the last of our series celebrating 250 years of Jane Austen.Listen to the other Dear Jane episodes here.

For Jeanette Winterson, reading has been her liberation but she's worried about its future. She asks what AI means for storytelling in her new book One Aladdin Two Lamps. American author Lily King shares the surprising origin of her tear-jerker love-triangle novel, Heart the Lover and we consider the parallels between Regency England and Pakistan in our next instalment of Dear Jane.For British author Jeanette Winterson, the life of the imagination has been the motivating force throughout her life. More recently, the intersection of literature, humanity and technology in the form of AI has preoccupied the author of Oranges are Not the Only Fruit and Why Be Happy When You Could be Normal? She's gathered her ideas about this intersection and what it means for storytelling in a new book, One Aladdin Two Lamps, which also tackles the famous text 1001 Nights. In the face of this technological innovation, she asks the troubling question: will we be reading books in the future?Heart the Lover is the sixth novel by American author Lily King. It follows Jordan, a young woman at college who is torn between two men who also happen to be best friends. The choices she makes will ripple throughout her life. The book is both a tear-jerker and a love triangle and draws the reader to the emotional end.We don our bonnets to celebrate the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen in the fourth episode in our series, Dear Jane. So far, we've delved into Pride and Prejudice, and Persuasion and today we focus on the flawed character of Emma Woodhouse, who graces Austen's fourth published novel, Emma. Laleen Sukhera is our guide and founded the Jane Austen Society of Pakistan over a decade ago (and has hosted many Austen style tea parties). She finds parallels between life in Emma's Regency England and the Pakistan of her 1990s youth.

Jane Austen's influence has spread well beyond the Anglosphere 250 years after her birth and today we consider the the parallels between Austen's Regency England and contemporary Pakistan. Laleen Sukhera is the founder of the Jane Austen Society of Pakistan (which has expanded to the Jane Austen Society MENAP - Middle East, North Africa, and Pakistan) and grew up reading Jane Austen. Now based in Dubai, she shares the many similarities between tea time, the marriage market and expectations on women in Austen's time and the Pakistan of her youth. She also shares why she has a soft spot for the fabulously flawed Emma Woodhouse in Austen's fourth published novel, Emma. Listen to the other episodes in Dear Jane here.

Megha Majumdar's A Guardian and a Thief asks what a billionaire, a manager and homeless person have in common, Sally Hepworth reveals the dramatic confession that led to her latest novel Mad Mabel and in the third episode of Dear Jane we are swept off our feet by the romance in Austen's Persuasion.Indian novelist Megha Majumdar's high stakes second novel, A Guardian and a Thief, drills into the moral dilemma posed by climate catastrophe and the will to survive. It takes a near future Kolkata ravaged by drought and famine and pits middle-class Ma against impoverished Boomba. Both are trying to survive and support their families but who has the moral high ground in this scenario? Megha reflects on how becoming a parent made her the writer she needed to be and why she doesn't want to reinforce the "noble mother" stereotype in her fiction.Australian author Sally Hepworth's tenth book can be thought of as a heartwarming crime novel. While this description might sound like a contradiction, Mad Mabel is about a granny serial killer but is also about loneliness, neglect and female friendship. Sally tells Claire about the unexpected confession that was inspiration for the book.We continue our celebration of the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen with the third episode in our series, Dear Jane. So far, we've busted some myths and revealed why Austen loves sailors. Today we focus on the romance in Jane Austen's Persuasion with Australian comedian and lover of romance, Alice Fraser. Alice is the author of A Passion for Passion: A Delirious Love Letter to Romance.

Jane Austen's novel Persuasion was the last she completed before her death and it is considered a more mature, sombre romance, and in Dear Jane, we ask what makes it so special?Persuasion follows the ever dependable Anne Elliot and Frederick Wentworth's rekindled romance after an eight year hiatus when it was deemed unsuitable. Australian comedian Alice Fraser describes it as the original second-chance romance and explains why it's different from Austen's other romances. Alice is the author of A Passion for Passion: A Delirious Love Letter to Romance.

British comic Ben Elton on the Aussie inspiration for writing fiction, and Miles Franklin winner Sofie Laguna on the collision of puberty and Roman mythology in her novel The Underworld. Plus the rules for reading Austen's Pride and Prejudice with Irish writer Colm Tóibín.It seems Ben Elton can do anything. Since his first writing gig at 21 for the BBC sitcom The Young Ones, he's been a stand-up comedian, a TV presenter and a writer for Blackadder (and many other film and TV productions). He's also had a prolific career as a novelist with 16 titles to his name, including Stark. So how does he manage his ego, being edited and the constant tussle of new ideas inside his mind? He's just released his autobiography, What Have I Done? and Claire Nichols visited him before a gig at Perth's Regal Theatre to find out.Australian author Sofie Laguna writes for adults and children and is a past winner of the Miles Franklin Literary Award (The Eye of the Sheep 2015). Sofie has a special affinity with the inner lives of young people and her latest novel, The Underworld, opens in 1973, when the main protagonist, Martha is 14 years old and dealing with puberty. She's an awkward outsider but she's also clever and brave. Sofie tells Claire Nichols why she was so taken with this character.In a Jane Austen novel, what does it mean if a character is in the Navy? Irish author of Brooklyn and Long Island, Colm Tóibín, has the answer and shares some "rules" for reading Austen's most famous novel, Pride and Prejudice. This is the second episode in our Dear Jane series which is a celebration of Austen's enduring legacy 250 years after her birth. 

In a Jane Austen novel, what does it mean if a character is in the Navy? What role do aunts and silly characters play? And what's the significance of the lavish balls? Irish author of Brooklyn and Long Island, Colm Tóibín, has the answers and shares some "rules" for reading Austen including her most famous novel, Pride and Prejudice. This is the second episode in The Book Show's Dear Jane series which is a celebration of Austen's enduring legacy 250 years after her birth. 

The British-Hungarian author David Szalay restrained novel Flesh has won the 2025 Booker Prize. The prize was presented to Szalay by Samantha Harvey, winner of the previous year's prize. Flesh follows the dramatic life of István from his teens in Hungary to being a social climber in England to a somewhat dejected middle-age.Szalay says that while the book was a risk to write he enjoyed the process. It's obviously paid off as he receives £50,000 for the win and will likely see a big increase in sales of his book.

Patricia Lockwood's latest book is the third exploring her inner state, just don't call it a trilogy. A call to all Jane Austen lovers with the beginning of our new series Dear Jane, and Markus Zusak on the wonder of books.Chronically online American author Patricia Lockwood blurs the lines between fiction and memoir in her latest book, Will There Ever Be Another You. Patricia is best known for her memoir Priest Daddy and the Booker Prize shortlisted novel, No One is Talking About This. Her new book is inspired by her own experience of long COVID and what it did to her mind. She tells Claire Nichols about over-ordering at the Wendy's franchise, the connections between her three books and feeling well again.We're celebrating Jane Austen's 250th birthday with Dear Jane, a brand-new series about her life, her books, her legacy, and why authors are still inspired by her novels. In the first instalment, Roller Derby Austen fanatic and academic Devoney Looser busts some myths and explains why she believes Jane Austen was wild, not mild. Devoney's new book is Wild for Austen: A Rebellious, Subversive, and Untamed Jane.The Book Thief by Markus Zusak was voted in at second place in our recent Top 100 Books countdown. This year also marks 20 years since this beloved book was published. It's about Leisel, a feisty German girl who finds power in stealing books and was inspired by Markus's parents' experiences in Europe during World War Two. It's a novel of big ideas and huge creative risks including Death as the narrator. Claire spoke to Markus for The Book Show's series My Biggest Book.Listen to the Top 100 Books countdown.Download a printable list of the Top 100 Books.

We're celebrating Jane Austen's 250th birthday with Dear Jane, a brand-new series about her life, her books and her legacy.  In the first instalment, Roller Derby Austen fanatic and academic Devoney Looser busts some myths and explains why she believes Jane Austen was wild, not mild.Devoney's new book is Wild for Austen: A Rebellious, Subversive, and Untamed Jane.

Become a Booker Prize expert and meet the shortlisted authors before the winner is announced in a ceremony featuring classic British pomp and fanfare.These are the shortlisted books:Flashlight by Susan ChoiThe Land in Winter by Andrew MillerThe Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran DesaiAudition by Katie KitamuraFlesh by David SzalayThe Rest of Our Lives by Ben Markovits.The Booker Prize is arguably the most prestigious literary prize in the English-speaking world, the winning author receives £50,000, while the shortlisted authors all receive £2,500. Importantly, the winner makes history and joins literary alumni including Margaret Atwood, Michael Ondaatje and Peter Carey and can expect a sharp rise in sales.The winner is announced 10 November.Another book extravaganza that has everyone talking is the Top 100 Books countdown. Listen again to the highlights here. Download a printable copy of the Top 100 Books list here. 

The American elegy, Dream State by American author Eric Puchner is one of Claire's favourite books of the year, Australian crime novelist Jane Harper explores grief and loss in Last One Out , and we revisit Paul Murray's The Bee Sting which made it into the Top 100 Books countdown.Set under the vast Montana sky, American author Eric Puchner traverses time, changing landscapes and the sometimes grim consequences of both small and large deeds in his latest novel. Dream State begins as a love triangle and sweeps across generations, encompassing many themes; from grief, guilt, long term love, male bonds, climate change, skiing and so much more, including a glimpse at a wolverine.Since the publication of the The Dry almost ten years ago, Jane Harper has become a household name in crime fiction. Her latest is a standalone novel set in a rural New South Wales town that's been overtaken by a mine, forcing many people to leave and resentment to brew. She tells Sarah L'Estrange Last One Out is about Ro, who's returned to the town for her son's memorial and she's still trying to understand what led to his disappearance five years ago.  And as a special treat we revisit a conversation with the Irish writer, Paul Murray about his book The Bee Sting. A contemporary family story, it came in at number 71 in the Top 100 Books of the 21st century. It begins with a disaster as a bride is on her way to the church.Listen to the Top 100 Books countdown.Download a printable list of the Top 100 Books.

The Top 100 Books of the 21st Century countdown is complete and now it's time to find out the inspiration behind some of Australia's favourite books with the authors: Trent Dalton, Hannah Kent and Barbara Kingsolver.Trent Dalton's debut novel Boy Swallows Universe was voted in as your number one read of the 21st century. A coming of age story, it follows the young boy, Eli Bell, who has a missing dad, a silent brother, a drug addicted mother and a notorious criminal for a babysitter. The novel is made all the more remarkable for how closely it's based on Trent Dalton's own life growing up on the Brisbane fringe. Trent shares his recollections of writing the book with Claire Nichols and what it means to be voted number one in the Top 100 Books. American writer Barbara Kingsolver's novel Demon Copperhead is a modern day retelling of Charles Dickens' David Copperfield. It won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, the Women's Prize for Fiction and now, it came out at number eight in the Top 100 Books countdown. Demon Copperhead is about Damon, known as Demon, who is just 12 when we meet him living a hard-scrabble life in Appalachia, USA. Barbara Kingsolver also calls this area home and in 2022, she told Claire Nichols about wanting to write a book about a new generation of lost boys highlighting issues of poverty, foster care and the opioid crisis in America.Another debut novel to crack the top ten was Burial Rights by the Australian writer Hannah Kent which was voted in at number six. This novel fictionalises the life of Agnes Magnusdottir, the last woman to be executed in Iceland. It was inspired by Hannah Kent's own time in Iceland which she's documented in a new memoir called Always Home, Always Homesick.Download a printable list of the Top 100 Books.Listen to the Top 100 Books countdown.

Heather Rose found writing her latest novel challenging because it's partly based on some murky family secrets. The author of The Museum of Modern Love and Bruny Island among other award winning novels, has now written A Great Act of Love: an historical saga of murder, migration, transformation and enduring familial bonds. It has a surprising effervescent setting;  making French style champagne in colonial Tasmania. Poet, visual artist, hip-hop musician and author Omar Musa finds magic in Italian beads, vengeful ghosts and the sound of the Borneo forest in his second novel. Fierceland exposes the dark side of Malay politics and trade in palm oil, but is also a story of family and love.Australian author Natalia Figueroa Barroso also draws on family and culture in her debut novel Hailstones Fell Without Rain.  From single migrant mothers making a life in Western Sydney to women surviving and resisting political oppression in Uruguay, it's a multigenerational celebration of strength and renewal.

It's 25 years since True History of the Kelly Gang came out and while Peter Carey might not be writing fiction anymore he says he's proud of his books. My Sister, The Serial Killer's Oyinkan Braithwaite on not writing the same book twice in Cursed Daughters and Tanya Scott's debut thriller, Stillwater. When it comes to Australia's great novelists, few loom larger than Peter Carey. He's won the Booker Prize twice, and the Miles Franklin Award three times and is beloved for books like Oscar and Lucinda, Illywhacker, Jack Maggs and A Long Way from Home. But at the age of 82, he says he's done with writing fiction. Instead, we're celebrating 25 years since the publication True History of The Kelly Gang which won the Booker in 2001.Oyinkan Braithwaite is a Nigerian-British author who made a big splash with her first novel, My Sister, The Serial Killer which was longlisted for the Booker Prize, shortlisted for the Women's Prize and won the Thriller Book of the Year at the British Book Awards. Her second novel, Cursed Daughters, is about three generations of Nigerian women and the family curse that dominates their lives.Stillwater is the debut thriller by Tanya Scott, a GP working in the mental health sector in regional Victoria. It's about Luke, a young man trying to escape his past when a run in with an old associate drags him back into a world of violence and crime.

Trent Dalton's new novel Gravity Let Me Go is about a middle aged journalist who can't let go of a good story, and David Malouf reflects on a life of writing and the hold of Brisbane on his imagination.Trent Dalton is the bestselling author of Boy Swallows Universe, All Our Shimmering Skies and Lola in the Mirror. His new novel Gravity Let me Go, is about a Brisbane crime journalist with a big story, an aching body and a family who could be in peril. Trent tells Claire Nichols that this book was a reckoning with who he is now as a middle aged family man with a serious story addiction. He also explains why he thinks of Brisbane as akin to Paris, London or New York for its romance, dark side and storytelling potential. Trent Dalton also shares his favourite book for ABC Radio National's Top 100 Books with a special shout-out to Geraldine Brooks. Vote for your favourite book of the 21st Century here. David Malouf was one of the first writers to put modern-day Brisbane on the literary map with his semi-autobiographical novel Johnno and says the city he wrote about was his own invention. Now at 91, David tells Claire Nichols about the place of fiction in his life and what it means to reissue three collections of poetry: An Open Book, Earth Hour and Typewriter Music.

Ian McEwan's futuristic novel What We Can Know is about rising sea levels and a lost poem. Plus, Randa Abdel-Fattah's response to the crisis in Gaza in her novel Discipline and Vogel Award winner Murray Middleton on the despair of being an artist.Ian McEwan is the British author of over 20 books including Atonement, Saturday, Lessons and his Booker Prize-winner, Amsterdam. His new novel, What We Can Know is set a century in the future where a history professor has dedicated his career to examining our era known as the "derangement". McEwan talks about writing a climate change novel and why we're all complicit in this contemporary derangement. He also tells Claire Nichols how he's learnt to be more humble as a writer.Randa Abdel-Fattah is a Palestinian Egyptian author, lawyer and academic who's mostly written books for children and young adults, but Discipline is her first novel for adults. It follows two Muslim characters living in Australia, as conflict breaks out in Gaza. It's about the agony of watching your family suffer from far away and it's also about the politics of our country and the cost of speaking out.Vogel Award winning author Murray Middleton contemplates the despair of being an artist in his latest collection of short stories, U Want it Darker. Many of the characters are dealing with a sense of failure, which is personal for Murray Middleton whose had his own set backs as an artist.  The Book Thief author, Markus Zusak shares his favourite book of the 21st Century for ABC Radio National's Top 100 Books. VOTE NOW! 

God of Small Things author Arundhati Roy remembers her difficult mother and how she was shaped as a writer, and Mick Herron on the success of Slow Horses and his repellent but memorable creation, Jackson Lamb.Arundhati Roy is a giant of literature. She's published two novels, including the Booker Prize-winning The God of Small Things and is a prolific author of non-fiction, much of which confronts injustice in her home country of India. Her latest book is a memoir, Mother Mary Comes to Me, which examines her complicated relationship with her mother, Mary Roy. Mary was a trailblazer in education and in fighting for equality for women but as a mum, she could be cruel and even violent. She died in 2022, and in the book, Arundhati Roy writes, "perhaps more than a daughter mourning the passing of her mother, I mourn her as a writer who has lost her most enthralling subject."British author Mick Herron says his popular Slough House series that began with Slow Horses in 2010 wasn't an immediate success. Although, now the Slough House universe about disgraced MI5 agents has grown with nine novels in the ongoing series and another seven associated standalone books and of course a wonderful TV series. The latest in the series Clown Town is about a missing book, and Jackson Lamb, the flatulent boss of these ragtag agents, is repellent as ever. But Mick Herron cautions not to read his books as an insight into the operations of MI5.VOTE NOW in ABC Radio National’s Top 100 Books of the 21st Century.